LING 402 - ACADEMIC DISCOURSE PRACTICES: A critical approach

1. LING 402 - ACADEMIC DISCOURSE PRACTICES: A critical approach Week 7 BRINGING READING INTO WRITING - 2

2. Recap from the last class • Dramatistic Approach • Writing as a dialogue • ‘Plagiarism’ • What it is. • How to avoid it!

3. Continuum of appropriation • acceptable borderline unacceptable • Direct quotes, para-quotes, unreferenced words/phrases • paraphrases, cited ideas uncited ideas / information 6 5 4 3 2 1 • The problem is how to know what is OK. • If in doubt, find and give a reference.

4. Session Outline • Using other people’s ideas and words in our work. • References • Theory into Practice • Examples • Writing a text drawing a source • Practice – • Your texts used next week. • Please also bring text on ‘aptitude’ from wk3

5. What is involved in representing others’ ideas in our work? • When we wish to use others’ ideas in our own work we have three choices in how to do this: • Summary • Paraphrase • Direct Quote • Three steps: • Decide which of the above to use • Accurately represent the material • Weave it into our own text

6. Original text Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. Already 150,000 people are dying every year because of climate change and, within 50 years, one-third of all land-based species could face extinction. Therefore the only way to slow and stop global warming and climate change is to reduce the production of man-made greenhouse gases. Student’s text Greenhouse gases in the air act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would normally be lost to space. The higher the level of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat energy is reflected back to the Earth. Nowadays 150,000 people are dying every year because of climate change and, within 50 years, one-third of all species could face extinction. Therefore the only way to slow and halt global warming and climate change is by reducing the production of man-made greenhouse gases.

7. Original text Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. Already 150,000 people are dying every year because of climate change and, within 50 years, one-third of all land-based species could face extinction. Therefore the only way to slow and stop global warming and climate change is to reduce the production of man-made greenhouse gases. Student’s text Author A (2012: 1) says ‘Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. Already 150,000 people are dying every year because of climate change and, within 50 years, one-third of all land-based species could face extinction. Therefore the only way to slow and stop global warming and climate change is to reduce the production of man-made greenhouse gases.’

8. Original text Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. Already 150,000 people are dying every year because of climate change and, within 50 years, one-third of all land-based species could face extinction. Therefore the only way to slow and stop global warming and climate change is to reduce the production of man-made greenhouse gases. Student’s text: summary including paraphrase, para-quotes and quotes. Author A (2012: 1) says greenhouse gases ‘act like a mirror’ and that the more that are created ‘the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth’. He claims (ibid. :1) that 150,000 people die every year due to climate change and in the next 50 years a third of all land-based species could become extinct. He feels that reducing our production of greenhouse gases is ‘the only way’ to stop the process. Perfect!

9. Summary, paraphrase and direct quotes When is it better to use a quote than paraphrase/ summary? List all the reasons you can think of. • The point could not be made any better – it has already been expressed as clearly and concisely as possible. • The author’s language is particularly vivid or striking. • The passage/section you need to quote is central to your analysis – because you need to examine it closely in order to develop your own argument. • You are criticising/ disagreeing with a particular source and need to provide proof that you are not misrepresenting them. • To prove you have in fact read and understood the source. In all other circumstances it is enough to simply paraphrase your source.

10. Summary, paraphrase and direct quotes What makes a good summary and paraphrase (i.e. what criteria should we use to judge it)? Most importantly… • It must represent honestly and accurately the original author’s view. • It should be your own words and syntax as much as possible.

11. Practical Examples • Integral and non integral citations. • ‘An integral citation is where the name of the cited author or the title of the cited work is textually integrated into the sentence, while a non-integral citation is where the author’s name occurs either in parentheses or is referred to elsewhere by a superscript number or via some other device.’ Chang (2004: 33) See handout • Varying styles: • In text citations • References section • Primary vs. secondary sources

12. Guiding Principles • Use sources as concisely as possible – do not drown out your own voice. • Make it clear when it is your voice and when it is the voice of the author(s) you are referring to. (different verbs) • Always make sure your source contributes to your argument. • Cite all your sources carefully.

13. Break

14. Recap week 6 Selected reasons for bringing your reading into your writing. • To show that we have understood what we have read. • To provide authoritative support for our own argument. • To show the relevance of a writer’s work to our argument/study. • To evaluate the work of a writer (positively or negatively). • To show the flaws in a writer’s argument. • To position yourself in relation/to what’s been said.

15. Practical Task • Read the text about the development of language. • In your group discuss your reaction to the text and take a position in relation to it. • Choose one or more of the reasons for bringing reading into writing – from last week’s session - In groups write a short piece (1 -2 paragraphs), including material from the text. • Write your final version onto an OHT

16. Thank you References • Chang Y.Y. (2004) Citation and Academic Careers: Six Stories from Two Fields. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. • Hauser, Marc D., Chomsky, Noam, Fitch, W. Tecumseh, (2002) The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve? Science Vol. 298, Issue 5598. • Disney, S. (1999) Polish Learner’s Use of English Articles Unpublished term paper.